The development of the European Lifelong Learning Indicators (ELLI) is an initiative of the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung to monitor the state of lifelong learning in Europe. The main focus of the ELLI project is the ELLI Index. The ELLI index is an annually updated composite indicator summarizing the state of lifelong learning for European countries. The ELLI IT platform is an online portal that provides access to regional data related to learning and socio-economic outcomes in Europe.
The ELLI Index is an annual measure of lifelong learning at national and sub-national levels in Europe. The ELLI Index is a composite index created from several other variables. The variables used to create the ELLI Index describe the different learning environments of school, community, work and home life. The variables cover the range of ages from birth to post-retirement. The ELLI Index measures learning in four different domains taken from the UNESCO framework completed by Jacques Delors that include learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.
The ELLI project references the conceptual framework developed by UNESCO's International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century under the leadership of Jacques Delors. Its report identifies four pillars of lifelong learning: "learning to know", "learning to do", "learning to live together" and "learning to be".
The conceptual framework of ELLI is a revised version of the UNESCO framework. The revisions are based on changes that reflect the European context and European policy environment and have been adapted according to existing data. The operationalization of the dimensions defined by UNESCO using data sources was developed by the Canadian Council on Learning for the Canadian Composite Learning Index (CLI).
The dimension of learning to know predominantly assesses the learning of young people within the formal education system. By including data on the formal system, ELLI measures the input and outcomes of the area in which most ministries of education allocate the majority of their budget and on which policy decision making and policy directions currently place their emphasis. In terms of investment, this dimension contains indicators on total expenditure on education and training. The range of learning opportunities for formal education that are included in ELLI are pre-school, school, higher education and adult education institutions. This pillar also measures learning outcomes from traditional core disciplines such as math, science and reading in secondary schools, as well as completion and attainment rates for post-secondary education. The learning to know pillar covers the majority of the political priorities related to education as stated by European member states.